


In The Meantime

by RoseByAnyOtherName17



Series: The Lion, the Wolf and the Dragon [8]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Gen, Northern Lords, Winterfell, discussions, the north - Freeform, the wall - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-10 15:41:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11129805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseByAnyOtherName17/pseuds/RoseByAnyOtherName17
Summary: Sansa wished Jon would come home; Littlefinger was growing bolder and she was no longer sure how long she could hold him at bay.





	In The Meantime

**Author's Note:**

> Short one guys, sorry about that. I've been busy lately. Just wanted to give a small peek into Winterfell - it's kind of at a standstill right now so sorry for that. Please enjoy though :)

Brienne and Podrick returned just a few days after Arya and Jon’s departure. Sansa stopped Brienne’s apologies immediately. “We won,” she said gently. “I would not have lived to see it if it were not for you, Lady Brienne.”

 

The woman would not be consoled. “My Lady, Riverrun has been taken by the Lannisters. The Blackfish is dead.”

 

Sansa frowned. “My mother always said he was too smart to engage in a battle he would lose.”

 

“Jaime Lannister freed your Uncle Edmure,” Brienne told her. “In return, Edmure surrendered the castle to the Lannisters. I spoke to Ser Jaime; he allowed me to enter Riverrun before anything happened so that I could speak to the Blackfish myself. He would not leave and died fighting for it.”

 

“Why would my uncle surrender to the Lannisters? Riverrun is his by right.”

 

“Jaime promised to foster his son at Casterly Rock, to educate him and raise him properly. One day he could become a part of the Kingsguard. His family will be safe.”

 

Sansa accepted it quietly. “You traveled with Ser Jaime, didn’t you?”

 

“I did,” Brienne said. “It may seem strange to you, My Lady, but I would trust Jaime Lannister with my life. He is a much more honorable man than Westeros believes him to be.”

 

Sansa said nothing more on the matter.

 

**

 

“A raven has come for you, My Lady,” a small chambermaid said, handing a sealed scroll to Sansa. They had found her hiding in the crypts a few days after the battle, freezing and without water. After settling her in the kitchen by the fire and feeding her, she explained that Lord Ramsey had taken her from her family in the village to have her make clothing for him and his men. Jon immediately offered to send her home, but she shook her head and asked quietly instead if her family could come to Winterfell.

 

“We will live in the servant’s quarters, of course,” she said hurriedly. “My father is a cobbler and my mother is a great cook, when she has the means to be so. Please, My Lord, they remember when Eddard Stark was the Lord of Winterfell. He treated us well in the village.”

 

It was arranged for her family to come to Winterfell and live in the castle, as well as a few of the other villagers. They happily served the Starks, thanking Jon and Sansa for their hospitality. The girl’s mother bowed her head and kissed Sansa’s hand. “Thank you for reuniting us with our daughter,” she murmured. “Lord Bolton was cruel.”

 

“Thank you, Elisa,” Sansa said now. “Why don’t you go get something to eat from the kitchens?”

 

Elisa curtsied. “Thank you, My Lady.”

 

Sansa scanned the letter and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. The remaining Wildlings had been moved to Mole’s Town and, although sightings of them increased beyond the Wall, no Wight had been able to get through. She would inform the Northern lords, but it was not urgent. The Night’s King had not yet been spotted, though Edd Tollet warned that it was only a matter of time. She recalled his bleak outlook from her time at Castle Black and relaxed a little. Still, a cautious Lord Commander like Edd was better than a reckless one. _Like Jon,_ she thought, but dismissed it.

 

A soft knock made her stiffen all over again before she turned and saw Brienne, dressed for once in comfortable, warm clothing rather than her armour. Since retaking Winterfell, no one but Elisa and Brienne entered her room without permission, but Littlefinger found ways to be near her no matter where she was. She dreaded the day when he grew bold enough to enter her bedroom. “Brienne,” she said, unable to keep the small relief from her voice. “Come in.”

 

The tall woman seemed out of place without her sword strapped at her hip, even if she was still dressed in breeches and a long tunic made for a man. At Sansa’s insistence, Brienne had allowed the Stark direwolf to be stitched into the sleeve, smaller than Brienne’s own sigil on her breast. Sansa did it herself while instructing Elisa in the important names of the North. “You should be able to address the lords properly as long as they are here,” Sansa told the girl, and while Elisa quickly memorized their names and faces, there was no real reason for Sansa to teach her their sigils as well. Elisa didn’t ask why and seemed to enjoy the lesson, so Sansa figured there was no harm done in it.

 

“Have you considered asking Lord Baelish to leave, Lady Sansa?” Brienne asked, taking a seat when Sansa gestured for her to. “He claims his men grow restless, and in the same breath he speaks of staying at your side until the war is over. Which war, he won’t say.”

 

Sansa sighed. “He needs to be kept close for now,” she said, “at least until Jon returns. His intentions are…” She stopped, frustrated.

 

“Unpredictable,” Brienne finished. “I understand, My Lady.”

 

“Until Jon returns and tells us how we will support Daenerys Targaryen, he must be kept here. He will do what I want him to, for a time. But I am afraid that my control over him will not last. He feels bound to me by his love for my mother and his guilt for selling me to the Boltons, but for how long?”

 

“Have you made it clear to him that you will not marry him?” Brienne inquired hesitantly.

 

“I fought hard to return home,” Sansa said. “That should be answer enough for him. And maybe it is, but he holds on despite it. If I explicitly tell him no, what will happen?”

 

“He is a madman.”

 

Sansa shook her head. “No, he isn’t. If he were truly a madman, he would be easier to deal with.”


End file.
